Revised resolution on Iraq to be available soon, Blair tells Chirac

British Prime Minister Tony Blair called Tuesday French President Jacques Chirac to tell him that the revised version of a UN Security Council resolution on Iraq would be "available soon", Chirac's office said.

In the telephone call, the two leaders discussed the UN resolution on Iraq, which is a good working basis needing to be improved, the modifications to be made and the necessity of the power transfer to Iraqi interim government after the June 30, said Chirac's spokeswoman Catherine Colonna.

Blair told Chirac that "a revised draft of the resolution should be available soon," said Colonna.

The two leaders will meet each other in Normandy for the ceremonies to mark the 60th anniversary of the D-Day landings on Sunday, she added.

The resolution draft drawn by the United States and Britain on the power transfer to Iraqi people should be improved, the French president affirmed Friday at a news conference held at the summit between the European Union (EU) and Latin America in Mexico. He believed there will be finally a positive and hopeful resolution in the end.

According to Chirac, the text must be "seriously improved", the future Iraqi government "must have a decision-making capacity on the commitment of its own forces and on major operations of the international force there," for the mandate of this force had been limited in the past, and the Iraqi people feel really something change and they will recover their sovereignty.

The United States and Britain introduced a draft measure on Iraq last Monday, seeking the Security Council's endorsement for the Iraqi power transfer and its authorization of the continued stay of the multinational force in Iraq after June 30.

But the text does not give a timetable for the withdrawal of the force. It only stipulates that the force's mandate would be reviewed one year later or at the request of Iraqis.

Likewise, the draft does not mention whether the new Iraqi government would have full control of its army, have a say on the multinational force's actions or have the right to sign economic contracts with foreign countries.

Source: Xinhua